Panel board



Sept. 22, 41936. J. F. JoHNsoN PANEL'. BOARD Filed April 50, `195:54

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. Patented Sept. 22, 1936 PANEL BOARD Jonas F. Johnson, Chicago. lll.,aaolgnor of'one- 'half to Fred Degian, Elmhurst, Ill.

Apniiootionaprii so, 19:4. serial No. 123,039

4 claim. (ci. en -1s) My invention pertains to fabricated compositepanel boardsof the wall-board type. My board may be used as wall,furniture and door paneling, partitions, wall surfacing, table andcounter tops, .and the like, and in general as a substitute for woodpanels.

Where a wood surface veneer is'carried on a soft ilbre backing such as apressed bagasse board, there is ordinarily danger of the veneer crackingand pulling apart when subject to dry air, or penetrated by nails, ofwarping when damp, and of being dentedinto the soft backing. One objectof my invention is to avoid or lessen these dangers. metal sheet betweenthe veneer and backing.

A further object is to adhere these three elements-the backing, themetal sheet and the veneertogether rmly and permanently, overcoming theproblem of making an adhesive hold to a metal surface. I solve thisproblem by adhering the veneer directly to the libre board roughVperforatio'ns in the intervening metal eet.

My resulting panel' board has many advantageous features. It is light inweight because the nbre backing is light and the veneer and metal sheetadd little weight per square foot. It

` has a higher tensile strength in lall directions of its plane, becauseof the reinforcing effect of the metal sheet. T'he veneer and metalsheetl greatly increaseA the general strength and rigidneer or thebacking, this because of the intimate securement of the reinforcingmetal sheet thereto. It may present a real, and not an imitation, woodsurface but the wood veneer is protected -against ill effects of eitherexcessive moisture or dryness, because of the 'reinforcing effect of themetal sheet.- My panel retainsl the heat insulating function of thebagasse board backing, and

'to this is added that of the wood veneer. It also v'retains thesoundinsulating property of the backing. The re resistance of my panelis'increased-by the metalsheet over that ofthe slowburning fibrebacking; and if desired the firel resistance may be further increased bya sup-y plemental sheet of asbestos.

,The metal sheet will conduct away and dissipate localized appli- This Iaccomplish by a my single-surfaced panel;

cations of extreme -heat such, 4for example, as might result from ashort circuit in electric wiring, and this will tend to prevent fires. mpanel readily lends itself to a double-surfaced panel where the fibrebacking becomes a core between^ two veneer sheets and metal sheets,which may economically be used for partitions, door panels, and thelike. My panel is economical to manufacture.

'I'he foregoing, together with further objects,

features and advantages of my invention are set forth in the followingdescription of specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a fragment of Fig. 2 is an exploded"perspective view thereof;

Fig. `3 is a cross-section taken on the line l-I 'of Fig. 1;

Fig.- 4 is aperspective view of a fragment of a modified form` ofpaneling where the metal sheet is within the backing board;

Fig. 5 is a similar view of another modi'cation having an auxiliarylayer'of sheet asbestos; and Fig. 6 is a similar view of double-surfacedpanel. l

Referring nrst to the form of Figs. 1, 2 and 3, my panelvboard i0, whichit will be understood is factory assembled and shipped in convenientstandard sizes, comprises. three major layers. Each layer isself-contained and pre-formed and preferably cut to the standard size ofthe resulting panel before assembly. The flrst layer is a main body orbacking Il which may be a pressed' bagasse board such as manufactured bythe Celotex Company of Chicago, under the trademark Celotex, ora woodfibre board such as is made from steam-exploded yellow pine chipspressed into sheet board form as, for example, is manufactured by 'I'heMasonlte Corporation of Chicago under the trade-mark Masonite, or corkboard or` any other of the many known types of light insulating boardsof relatively soft fibrous material. I' contemplate however that forcertain purposes a backing of the plaster-board ,or plywood types may/be substituted.

I'he second or intermediate layer is a perforated metal sheet I2 whichwill later be described.

1 contemplate that other suitable materiels may Abut also in the planeof the panel.

be either substituted for the wood veneer or applied to its outersurface to meet specic requirements or give desired effects, as forexample, linoleum or rubber flooring, for bathroom walls or card tabletops or counter tops and marbleized linoleum for store or counterfixtures. Where leather, canvas, ornamental fabrics or other relativelylimp or plastic surfacing is desired for decorative effect, they arepreferably applied to the outer surface of the veneer, which may be donebefore assembly, or after assembly or after the panel is installed.

Referring again to the metal sheet I2, I prefer to use thin rolled sheetsteel having overall stamped-out perforations I4. In a typical panelbOard having a backing sheet Il of say inch thickness and a hard woodvenner 13 of 315 inch thickness, the metal sheet may be 24 to 28 gaugewith 11g inch perforations spaced ten to the inch.

A layer of adhesive I such as glue or adhesive cement is appliedpreferably both to the inner surface of the veneer i3 and the outersurface oi' the backing Il. The backing and veneer are thensuperposedwith the metal sheet between themf and the assembly is put in a press orpassed between rollers. layers to adhere together and also forces theadhesive into the perforations.

If the adhesive be applied directly only to the backing, some of theadhesive is forced through the perforations and into contact with theveneer in the areas opposite the respective perforations. Also to acertain extent the adhesive flows between the lands of the metal sheetand the inner surface of the veneer and away from each perforation, toincrease the area of contact of the adhesive with the veneer, inaddition to the aggregate area of the perforations.

If the adhesive be applied directly only to the veneer, it willsimilarly be forced through the perforations into contact with thebacking. Whichever of these three methods is followed, the perforationswill be permanently lled by the adhesive. When the adhesive contractsupon setting it will thereby tend to pull the veneer and backing morermly together with the metal sheet therebetween.

While I contemplate that there will preferably be a directsurface-to-surface cementing of the metal sheet to the backing board andto the veneer, I recognize that it is diihcult to get a good adherenceto a metal surface. The direct adherence of the veneer to the backing bythe adhesive through the perforations'provides a. iirm permanentassembly which does not depend upon the less reliable adhesion to thesurface of the metal.

I have previously mentioned that the glue or other adhesive upon settingand drying will contract to null the veneer and the backing together'transversely of the plane of the panel. A slight transversedeformation'of the backing and veneer is indicated in the cross-sectionof Fig. 3. But -the contraction of the glue upon drying is not onlytransversely of the plane of the panel, Thus the slug of glue whichoccupies each perforation, upon drying, will contract to pull itselfaway from the margins of the perforations, leaving a slight annularspace l1 which aords a certain amount of play in the plane of the panel.Thereare situations where the wood 'veneer will tend to expandundermoisture or the backing will tend to expand under moisture or underheat the wood will tend to dry while the metal expands. These Thiscompression causes the .panel where the metal sheet and veneer areapplied to both sides of the backing board, which then becomes a core.VThis is particularly adapted for use as a partition, door panel, or thelike.

Fig. 4 shows a modification Where the veneer is directly adhered to theouter surface of the backing board and the metal sheet is insertedbetween, and adhered to the inner surfaces of, two plies of the backingboard. If desired, a veneer may be applied also to the exposed backsurface of the backing board to provide a doublesurfaced panel. i

In the modification of Fig. 5, I have included a layer of sheet asbestosI6 which is inserted either between the metal sheet and the backingboard or, as specifically illustrated, between the metal plate and theveneer. In the latter case, the veneer is directly adhered to theasbestos sheet. Such a medication may be used when greater ireresistance is desired.

I claim:

1. As an article of manufacture, a composite panel handleable as a unitand comprising a preformed backing of stiif compressible bre board, apre-formed surfacing veneer of virgin wood, a pre-formed metal sheet,wholly conned between the planes of its own surfaces, interposedimmediately between the board and the veneer and in surface contacttherewith, overall perforations in the metal sheet, and an adhesiveadhering to the juxtaposed surfaces of the board and of the veneer andextending therebetween through the perforations for holding the board,metal sheet and veneer in permanently assembled fixed relation as aunitary panel, the inner surface of the veneer at the perforations beingsubstantially co-planar with the inner surface thereof between theperforations.

2. A double-surfaced composite panel of the wall-board type comprising acore layer of Stiff compressible fibre board, an exposed surfacing sheetof wood veneer at each side of the core, an all-over perforated metalsheet between and in surface contact with the core layer and each ofsaid veneer sheets, and an adhesive adhering to an outer surface of thecore and to the inner surfaces of the respective veneer sheets andextending through the perforations in the ,metal sheet for permanentlyholding the veneer sheets to the core with the metal sheetstherebetween.

3. A composite panel of the'wall-board type comprising a backing ofstiff, compressible ilbre board, a second layer of self-supporting sheetmaterial, a layer of perforated flat metal, wholly conned between theplanes of its own surfaces, coextensive with the panel and intermediate,and in surface contact with, the bre board and the second l'a'yer, andan adhesive applied only to the backing sheet extending through theperforations in the metal layer and directly adhering the fibre board tothe second layer.

4. As an article of manufacture, a composite genoeg '-3 panel handleableas a unit and comprising a. preformed backing lof etltl! compressiblenbre board vo1' e. thicknes ofthe order 'of $5", a pre-farmed lo allpertorationsin the metal cheet. and en ad hcaive adhering to thejuxtaposed surfaces of the board and ofthe veneer and extendingtherebetween through the perforations for holding the bom-metal-ahcetand veneer in permanently assembled ilxed relation as a unitary panel,the inner surface of the veneer at the perforations being substantiallyco-planar with the innen surtace thereof between the perforations.-

JONAS F. JOHNSON. 10

